FIFA announces draw seedings for Rio Olympic football tournaments

Rio De Janeiro, April 10 (IANS) FIFA has announced details of the group seedings for the Rio 2016 Olympic football tournaments. The draw will take place on April 14 at the Maracana Stadium, which will host the women’s and men’s finals on August 19 and 20.

The men’s tournament will feature 16 teams in four groups of four, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

For the draw, the teams have been divided into four pots based on a ranking according to previous Olympic performances, which has produced the unlikely sight of world champions Germany in the lowest-ranked pot.

A German team has not competed at an Olympic football tournament since Seoul 1988, when West Germany took bronze.

Men’s draw

Pot 1: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan

Pot 2: Nigeria, South Korea, Honduras, Iraq

Pot 3: Sweden, Fiji, Portugal, South Africa

Pot 4: Algeria, Colombia, Denmark, Germany

One team from each pot will be drawn into each group – A, B, C and D – although FIFA’s general principle, for the men’s and women’s tournaments, is to ensure that no group has more than one team from the same continental confederation. The top-two placed teams in each of the men’s groups will proceed to the quarter-finals.

The 12 women’s teams will also be split into four pots, based on the world rankings released on 25 March. They will be drawn into three groups of four (E, F and G), with the top two from each of the women’s groups, plus the two best third-placed teams, proceeding to the quarter-finals.

Women’s draw

Pot 1: Brazil, USA, Germany

Pot 2: France, Australia, Sweden

Pot 3: Canada, China, New Zealand

Pot 4: Colombia, South Africa, Zimbabwe

The Olympic football tournaments will be staged in seven stadiums in six cities – the Olympic Stadium will join the Maracana in hosting matches in Rio de Janeiro, while the following stadiums will be used in the co-host cities: Amazonia Arena (Manaus), Corinthians Arena (Sao Paulo), Fonte Nova Arena (Salvador), Mane Garrincha Stadium (Brasilia) and Mineirao (Belo Horizonte).